Diet of Florida Mice 



137 



Table 1. Persistence data for Podomys on trap grids in Putnam County, 1987-88. 

 Data presented are minimum number known alive, mean + SD days present on 

 grid, and total number of trapnights. 







Number of Days 



Present 





Grid 

 Location 



Minimum 

 Number 



X SD 



Maximum 



Trapnights 



Anderson-Cue I 

 Anderson-Cue II 

 Smith Lake 



12 

 6 



24 



16 21 



7 13 



123 156 



75 

 33 

 517 



4,200 

 3,000 

 4,100 



DISCUSSION 



Hulls of Q. laevis found in excavated burrows (Jones and Franz 

 1990) and vacuumed remains of Q. geminata and Q. laevis from 

 burrows on Roberts Ranch, Putnam County (E. G. Milstrey, University 

 of Florida, personal observation) were opened in a manner consistent 

 with that observed with captive Podomys. Small piles of similarly- 

 opened hulls occasionally were found at the base of turkey oaks 

 and near burrow entrances on Ordway. 



Acorn selection might be based on chemical composition other 

 than tannin content. Acorns of Q. hemisphaerica contain more tannic 

 acid than Q. laevis and more fat and carbohydrates than Q. chapmanii 

 and Q. incana (Halls 1977, Harris and Skoog 1980). In their study 

 of acorn preference in Peromyscus, Briggs and Smith (1989) found 

 that five P. leucopus captured in habitats lacking oaks consumed 

 equal amounts of acorns from species of the red and white oak 

 groups, whereas mice from areas containing oaks selected acorns of 

 Quercus species found in their habitat, independent of fat, protein, 

 and tannin content. 



Based on these preliminary results, I suggest that acorns of 

 oaks other than Q. laevis are preferred if available. Turkey oaks 

 provide an unreliable food supply. Umber (1975) noted low, variable 

 acorn production by Q. laevis in Citrus and Hernando counties, and 

 Kantola and Humphrey (1990) found that production by trees at 

 Ordway varied with slope and tree diameter. Layne (1990) correlated 

 the relatively greater abundance of Podomys in scrub and scrubby 

 flatwoods with higher and more consistent acorn production than in 

 sandhills. He also presented evidence that differences in morphology 

 and behavior in scrub and sandhill populations reflect differences in 

 vegetation structure and mast production in these habitats. Proximity 

 to Q. geminata and other oak species might partially explain the 

 relatively higher and more stable population of Podomys at Smith 

 Lake, although there is no evidence that populations are food limited. 



